Taipei just broke ground on a twisting skyscraper that is wrapped with a jungle of vertical gardens! Designed by Vincent Callebaut Architecture, the 42,355-square-meter (455,000-square-foot) Agora Tower will have an orchard, a vegetable garden, space for aromatic and medicinal plants, and a compost and rainwater capture system - and that's just the beginning.
Designed to mimic two encircling hands and the helical structure of DNA, the towers are organized a central core that allows for what the design team call a “hyper-abundance of suspended gardens.” These will spill over with edible and decorative plants, enabling residents of 40 luxury apartments to harvest a great deal of their own food (except for protein.) Plus, the rainwater capture system alleviates pressure on the municipal water supply and gives the complex even greater independence.
Each 540 square meter apartment will have an interior green wall as well, ensuring optimum air quality and a great green aesthetics. A circular light funnel will push daylighting right down to the basement of the building, a solar roof will provide energy, and low E glass will mitigate excess solar gain and prevent thermal loss. Complete with nanotechnology and a host of other high-tech features, this one-of-a-kind tower may well be the greenest of its kind when it is completed circa 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment